Pam Bowman: Aggregation

Employing fibers and textiles as both material and language, Provo-based artist Pam Bowman creates intricate installations to explore themes of home and community.

Situating this exhibition within the context of her own neighborhood, Aggregation traces the threads of the artist’s interpersonal relationships in order to reveal the importance of individual components within a cohesive whole.

Bowman’s work often focuses on themes of domesticity, yet her materials speak to broader platforms of production in terms of industry and labor. For this installation, large metal spools take center stage. While the clunky steel devices hint at mechanisms of consumerism, fashion and apparel, Bowman pivots from the socio-economic implications of the industrial spools in order to generate a more personal narrative of production.

Aggregation speaks to the multifaceted experiences and relationships that are integral to concepts of community. Bowman highlights both the singularity and specificity of her surroundings and friendships by looking to the modes of work and assembly that are necessary in the production of a unified network. For Bowman, thread, string, and rope are particularly meaningful as symbols of this accomplishment.